Handle With Care
by MistressKiko
Summary: AU - Shizuo has his hands full with the seven children he looks after at KinderCare Daycare; even more so with an unexpected guest and the flirty little assistant who always insists on grabbing his behind. Rating may go up.
1. KinderCare Daycare

**Title:** Handle With Care**  
>Author: <strong>MistressKiko**  
>Rating:<strong> T** (for now. May go up)**  
><strong>Pairing: <strong>Shizuo x Izaya  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I own none of these characters!

**THIS STORY CONTAINS MALExMALE RELATIONSHIPS**. You have been warned.

* * *

><p><strong>Shizuo's POV<strong>

"WAAAAAAAAH HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Hearing the shrill cry that could only belong to a highly displeased child, I winced and quickly turned to survey the area.

Kyo and Sayu were safely swinging their legs back and forth to get momentum on the swings.

Takeshi, Hideki, and Sosuke were... what _were_ those trouble makers doing over ther-

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Erk.

Finally seeing a little girl sitting on the ground holding her knee, I fled to the scene.

"Hey, hey, Miyo-chan, what's wrong?" I asked softly, immediately scooping the small girl into my arms when I got close enough. A few more sobs escaped her throat before she pointed to her bleeding knee and gave me the biggest puppy eyes known to mankind.

Kids were too fucking cute.

"I fell," Miyo whined, and as if the memory had brought the pain back full-force, let out another loud sob. I winced and turned on my heel to walk back to the daycare center.

"Shh, sweetie, we'll get that cleaned and bandaged right away. You want a Hello Kitty band-aid?" I said, trying to take her mind off the little scratch. She sniffled and nodded, her hands clinging to my shirt.

After a quick cleaning and a brand new pink band-aid on her knee, Miyo was running out of the room laughing like nothing happened.

Oh the carefree attitude of youth.

How I envy it.

"Shiiiiiiizu-chan!"

Every single muscle in my body tensed at the voice, and even more so at the hand that was lackadaisically groping my ass.

"Izaya," I replied in a controlled anger, grabbing hold of the offending arm and yanking it away from my body. Glaring down at my fellow employee, I briefly wondered if I could get a restraining order on this guy.

Probably not, considering I worked with him and definitely didn't want to quit.

Maybe a sexual harassment charge, then.

"Look what I found our little tykes doing!" Izaya exclaimed like he hadn't just grabbed my ass, holding up a clear container.

Inside said container was a dead frog, lying upside down with some of its guts grossly hanging out.

I _knew_ those three were doing something over there...!

Sighing, I snatched the container, frowning as I stared at the poor, innocent victim.

"What'd you do to them?" I asked, walking forward. Izaya followed close behind.

I realized I shouldn't let him walk behind me. Granted, we would be in the childrens' view soon, so he wouldn't dare try one of his little tricks, but he still had his _eyes_.

Yes, sadly, this sexual harassment was a regular occurrence.

I should have never let him find out I was gay.

Biggest mistake of my life.

"I separated them. Told them not to pick on things weaker than themselves," Izaya answered me, and we both sidestepped Sayu as she came running into the house, "The frog's life may have been saved if Shizu-chan was out here~!"

"Miyo-chan fell. I had to attend to the wound. That's why there are two of us," I explained, knocking him in the head with the container. He just gave me a stupid grin.

"Is Shizu-chan saying he needs me?" Izaya practically purred.

I snorted and didn't bother with an answer, stepping off the porch and walking around the side of the building to dispose of the frog.

Working at a childrens' daycare, I got to deal with a wide variety of personalities and temperaments. Takeshi and Hideki were pretty damn good kids alone.

Throw in Sosuke and the evilness was born.

Hence the gutted frog.

And Sosuke adored Izaya.

Somehow it made perfect sense.

Making my way back to the front of the house, I lifted a hand to wipe the sweat forming at the nape of my neck. The sun was shining brightly in a cloudless sky, and I wondered if it was getting too hot for the kids. We should probably move them inside, though they had snack time thirty minutes prior and I hated the thought of rowdy children inside.

Izaya was standing on the front porch, a bottle of water tilted up against his lips. He had rolled up his sleeves and clipped the front of his pair back with a clip. Walking closer, I realized it was Sayu's purple flower clip, and had to smile.

Izaya had only been working here for four months, whereas I'd worked here for over a year already. It wasn't amazing money, but it got me by. I've never been very book-smart, anyway, so college was never really an option.

And I adore kids.

Let's face it, the real world sucks. It's full of liars and cheaters and all-around evil things. A child's innocence is like a breath of fresh air. Izaya once told me he shared that sentiment, though I have to wonder what _else_ is in that mind of his. He often had no sense of personal space, or shame, but I couldn't rightly accuse him of ever being neglectful with the kids. And for that, I was grateful.

"We should round the kids up inside," I said, halting by his side. A quick glance was the only indication he heard me, and with a dramatic tip back of his body, he downed the water bottle before ripping it away from his lips with a satisfied sigh.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Izaya said, fanning himself with the water bottle for show. I'm sure it wasn't supplying adequate air to cool him, "Hey guys! We're going in!"

The children perked up and started grabbing toys and drinks and whatever else they had brought outside with them.

"Nice clip," I jest, gesturing to his hair. He grinned and lifted a hand up to touch it.

"Sayu-chan was nice enough to let me borrow it!"

Said little girl was the first to walk up to them, holding onto Kyo's hand. The three little devils followed, snickering at the hand-holding.

"Kyo and Sayu, sitting in a tree~!" Sosuke started singing as the other two laughed. Sayu blushed and uncertainly looked down as Kyo sent them a glare and pulled Sayu closer.

"At least I have a girlfwiend!" Kyo exclaimed, a small speech impediment disabling him from pronouncing his 'r's correctly.

The trio suddenly looked offended, turning to each other before all three heads turned toward Miyo, the only other girl in their group. Miyo looked caught between horror and disgust.

I bit my lip to contain my laughter. Izaya wasn't so secretive, and busted out laughing.

"Now now, children, hand-holding is perfectly acceptable!" He insisted, and in the next second, I felt his hand slide into mine and lace our fingers together. He held our joined hands up proudly, "See?"

I ripped my hand away, sending him a quick glare, but the damage had already been done. Sayu, sweet little Sayu, was looking up at us with wide, curious eyes.

"Is Iza-sensei Shizuo-sensei's girlfriend?"

I gaped, feeling a trickle of embarrassment spread across my cheeks. Well this was awkward. Damn you, Izaya, and your sly little tricks! What would be the best way to answer something like that...? I sure as hell knew Izaya wouldn't. He looked rather cheerful watching me squirm.

Takeshi spoke up before I could.

"Iza-sensei is a _guy_, he can't be Shizuo-sensei's _girl_friend!"

Sayu immediately dropped her head, looking uncomfortable. No doubt the comment made her feel stupid.

"Hey now," I spoke softly, bending down in front of Sayu and placing a hand on her black waves, "No, Iza-sensei isn't my.. girlfriend, but he's a friend. You hold hands with your friends sometimes too, right?"

Sayu nodded, recognition lighting up her face. I smiled and ruffled her hair before standing back up and gesturing the kids inside.

"Did I just get rejected?" Izaya whispered to me as we followed the kids inside. I grabbed a stack of coloring books and shoved them into his chest.

"Pass these out, hm?"

Izaya clicked his tongue at me, but did as he was told.

"Shizuo-sensei!" Hideki shouted, raising his hand for good measure, "Since it's so hot, can we get ice cream?"

The other children cheered at the suggestion, and I inwardly sighed.

"We came from outside to get out of the heat. And you just had snack time a bit ago."

A collection of disappointed 'aaaaaaaaaaawwwwww's resounded in the room.

"Shizuo-sensei is just being a meanie~" Izaya said, placing the last coloring book in front of Kyo, "If all of you behave for the rest of the day, I'll get you ice-cream tomorrow."

More cheers.

"Don't make the kids hate me," I grumbled to Izaya when he walked back to me.

"Hate is a strong word. They'll just think you're mean," Izaya responded with a grin.

"That ice-cream is coming out of your paycheck. And if any of the parents say we're feeding them too much sugar, that's on you too."

"Don't worry so much, Shizu-chan," Izaya replied, patting me on the back, "Now we'll have well-behaved kids throughout the rest of the day!"

"And we'll have kids loaded up on sugar tomorrow," I muttered, watching Sosuke give curious glances between Kyo and Sayu, and Miyo. I wasn't sure how I felt about the little trouble maker possibly liking Miyo, but Miyo seemed oblivious anyway. Good girl.

The situation reminded me of a certain _someone_.

"... your glare is so scary, Shizu-chan."

The telephone suddenly rang, and I jogged around colorful tables to reach it.

"KinderCare Center, Heiwajima Shizuo speaking," I answered, leaning my elbows on the table.

"It's Vorona."

I paused, and then turned away from Izaya and the kids.

"This is a surprise," I say, a frown tugging at my lips. It wasn't a pleasant surprise; never was. It pained me sometimes to think of how utterly awkward it was between us.

"I am going on a business trip. I will need you to take care of Kayumi."

At the thought of spending extra time with my little girl, my heart swelled. I had made a lot of mistakes in my life. Being gay, yet getting drunk and sleeping with one of my girl friends and then feeling obligated to marry her being the absolute worst. It was nearly two years ago that I went through a suffocating divorce, and lost nearly all rights to see my child. In the end, maybe that's why I took this job. If only to ease my own mind, I wanted to prove I was good with kids, even if I wasn't as successful or as intelligent as my ex-wife.

"Of course I will," I say, gripping the phone but trying to keep the excitement out of my voice, "When and for how long?"

After scribbling down all the details and saying a quick good-bye, I hung up the phone and took a deep breath.

Tomorrow.

She'd be here tomorrow, and she'd be staying for approximately a week. It's not like I never got to see Kayumi, but the days were few and far between. She was a little jewel, though I guess any good parent would say that about their only daughter. But I'm serious; she's well-mannered, intelligent, and cute as a button!

"Shizuo-sensei?"

I turned around to see Sayu's honey brown eyes staring at me above the piece of paper she held in front of her face. The coloring sheet showcased her newly-colored puppy, with a surprisingly purple nose. I smiled and knelt down to her eye level.

"Did you color this?" I asked in awe. Even though most of her face was hidden behind the piece of paper, I could tell she smiled by the crinkles that appeared on the ends of her eyes.

"Yeah," she answered, nodding.

"Well it's amazing, but why the purple nose?"

"Purple is my favorite color!" She exclaimed, extending the artwork out to me, "I want you to have it!"

"Well thank you," I replied, taking the coloring page and sneaking a look up at the rest of the kids. Kyo was looking our way curiously, and my grin grew, "Now you better go color something for Kyo-kun or he'll get jealous."

Sayu gasped as if she had done a great wrong and turned to run back over to him. I stood, wincing as my knee popped. Damn, I wasn't _that_ old yet!

Izaya looked to have the kids under control, so I used the time to step into my office and hang the coloring page up on my bulletin board. Kayumi usually visited me on the weekends, so she had yet to meet all the children here. Someone like Sayu would make a good friend for her.

… I'd try to keep her away from Sosuke for sure. Possibly away from that entire trio. But I guess, in the end, as long as she was accepted, I'd be content.

The rest of the day dragged on without any more incidents. The sun was already setting by the time Hideki's mother came to pick him up, and with him gone, the daycare center was empty and ready to be picked up. Izaya was already doing so, wiping down the tables with disinfectant wipes.

"So Shizu-chan," he began, looking up from the colorful tables, "Wanna go get a drink before heading home?"

I rolled my eyes and stacked the coloring books on the shelf.

"Want to get me drunk?" I asked, giving him a pointed look and grabbing the keys. I heard him whistle as if he were innocent, and heard him fall into step behind me. I really should have been expecting the hand on my ass, but I still shamefully jumped and whirled around to glare at him, "You _really_ need to get yourself a boyfriend."

I waited until he passed me, walking out on the front porch, to lock up the building. When I turned around, he was standing in the yard looking up at me. Those scarlet eyes of his really stood out with the sunset behind him.

"I'm trying to," he said with a small smile. Without the normal teasing tone, it caught me off-guard, and I stared at him until his smile widened and he twirled around, raising a hand in the air to wave at me.

"Dream of me tonight, Shizu-chan!"

I sighed and pocketed the keys.

"You wish."

Such a weird guy.

* * *

><p><em>So, started another one XD I looove kids ^_^ <em>

_To 'Elle', who left me an anonymous review on All The Wrong Reasons (I can't reply to anon reviews D:!) I appreciated the review very much and along with this one, more fanfics from me are soon to come ^_^_


	2. Kayumi

**Title:** Handle With Care**  
>Author: <strong>MistressKiko**  
>Rating:<strong> T** (for now. May go up)**  
><strong>Pairing: <strong>Shizuo x Izaya  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I own none of these characters!

**THIS STORY CONTAINS MALExMALE RELATIONSHIPS**. You have been warned.

* * *

><p><strong>Shizuo's POV<strong>

I looked down at my watch for the umpteenth time today and inwardly cursed myself for it. I'd been so caught up in the fact I was staying with my little girl for the week that I'd failed to ask exactly what time Vorona would be dropping her off today, and now I was just a bundle of nerves.

"Shizu-chan!"

I snapped out of my daze and looked up at my raven-haired assistant, who was frowning at me. He leaned forward and pushed the bowl full of strawberry ice cream closer.

"I got you your favorite and you're just letting it melt!" He complained. True to his word, Izaya had bought two cartons of ice-cream for us and the kids, which was way too much, but he insisted that most of the children liked chocolate and he wanted to get me my favorite flavor too. It was an admittedly nice gesture, but all the extra ice-cream we'd have..!

"Sorry," I muttered, picking up the spoon. The pink sugar wasn't liquid yet, but it had definitely lost it's original form, even though today was not nearly as hot as yesterday had been. It was still cold and sweet on my tongue, and that's all that mattered.

"So!" Izaya began, smacking some kind of booklet I didn't realize he had down on the table. A curious glance confirmed they were brochures of some kind, "I have a question for you."

I raised a brow and took another bite of my ice-cream.

"Is that an apartment complex?" I asked, looking harder at the front of the brochures.

"Yep, this is the apartment complex I'll be moving into this weekend."

I almost choked on my ice-cream.

Wait.

"You're moving?"

What about his job?

This _weekend_? It was Friday! What the hell-

I snatched the brochure from his fingertips and turned it my way so I could read properly.

…

Oh. Okay. That address was around here somewhere.

"Yeah, look through it! It's a decent little place for the price, and it's much closer to the daycare so I don't have to walk as far every day~"

It _did_ look nice; had patios and everything.

"So what's your question?" I asked, looking up from the brochure. He smiled that little smile that was supposed to pass as sweet and innocent but looked anything _but_ on him.

"Can you please help me with the move?" Izaya asked, clapping his hands together in front of him.

I scoffed.

"You need more friends," I replied dryly. Really, why me? Unless he was trying to get me alone. I wouldn't put it passed him.

"Pleeeeease?" He begged, and I had to lean to the side when he advanced, "My only friends are a crabby old man and a bitchy woman, neither of who will do me any good!"

"... like I said, you need more friends."

Izaya huffed and cupped his cheek in his palm.

"I need more friends, I need a boyfriend, you going to tell me I need another life next?" Izaya asked, but with no malice. I chuckled.

"Wouldn't be surprised. I still don't know why you're _here_ when you have a college degree," I replied, and I meant every word. It was easy to explain why someone like me was here, but Izaya had the brains to go do something big if he wanted to.

"It's called doing what you love," he replied with a grin.

"Iza-sensei!" We both turned to see Takeshi run up to us and hold out the bottom of his shirt, where a blob of chocolate ice-cream sat, "I got ice-cream on my shirt!"

Izaya sighed and swiftly stood up.

"Let's get that washed then," he said, carefully pulling the shirt over the tyke's head as to not get the ice-cream on his face or in his hair.

"Daddy!"

After a split second of registering the word, I whipped my head up toward the front gates.

With my chest fluttering happily, I stood and watched my little girl run to me. Golden strings of hair whipped behind her, a bright smile painted on her lips, and as she came closer, I could see her eyes, _my eyes_, wide and glittering.

"Heeey!" I exclaimed, bracing myself for the weight of her body jumping in my arms. I hefted her up to sit on my forearm and her smaller, paler arms wrapped around my neck. I smiled at the familiar scent of cherry blossoms. It was always her favorite, "How's my little girl?"

"Good!" She replied, gasping the collar of my shirt in her hand as she politely added, "'n you?"

"I've been good too," I grin at her, glancing toward the front gate. Vorona is standing there, just on the outside, and waves when I see her. I wave back, and the Kayumi looks back at her too.

"Bye mommy!" She yells as loud as her little lungs allow. With that, Vorona walked out of sight. I had to sigh, memories dancing in my mind of times when it wasn't so awkward between us. I loved Vorona, I really did, just not in the way she wanted.

Kayumi suddenly leaned closer to me, and I blinked, noticing our audience for the first time. The kids had all gathered around the porch, eyes wide in curiosity. My eyes traveled to Izaya, but he was just staring at Kayumi like she'd just gotten off of an alien ship or the like.

Eh heh. Kayumi usually always saw me on weekends, so she'd never been here before. And it was certain no one here knew I had a child, or much less that I'd been _married_.

"Shizuo-sensei, I didn't know you had a daughter!" Miyo exclaimed.

"Are you married?" Takeshi asked.

"Was that you'w wife?" Kyo inquired. Sayu stood just behind him, looking over his shoulder curiously and being the shy little girl she was.

"My name's Hideki! What's yours?" Hideki introduced, eyes on Kayumi. My daughter practically melded against me, watching everyone curiously.

"Hey, hey, one question at a time," I chuckled a little nervously, carefully setting Kayumi down. She remained clinging to my apron as I placed a hand on her head, "This is my daughter, Sokolov Kayumi. She'll be hanging out with us for a while. Kayumi, this is Sayu, Kyo, Hideki, Takeshi, and Miyo. And that is my assistant, Orihara Izaya."

Said assistant really looked like he wanted to say something to me, but held himself back and smiled at Kayumi.

"... hi," Kayumi greeted, unsure.

"Nice to meet you, Kayumi-chan," Izaya said, before lifting up the shirt, "I better go get this washed."

It truly surprised me that he left without any questions, but I had to deal with the kids now.

"Alright, break it up guys. I wanna talk to Kayumi for a bit," I said. They slowly dispersed, giving us looks every few seconds. I gently tugged on Kayumi's arm to hint at her to sit down. She did, "So, tell me what you've been up to?"

With that, she launched into a discussion about her friends, hobbies, and what she had been doing since the last time she saw me. I hung on to every word, glad that the gap between us seemed to be filled just a little more. She talked about her first time flying a kite, and I wished I had seen it. I really needed to man up and face the awkwardness between Vorona and I, just to ask her if I could spend more time with them. Or at least with Kayumi.

"You've talked for a bit!" So focused on the girl across from me, I jumped at the new voice. Miyo stood there with her hands behind her back, and her gaze moved toward Kayumi, "Wanna play?"

Kayumi looked at me as if she were asking for permission. I quelled the silly little itch of jealousy inside me and nodded. Kayumi smiled and hopped off her chair, following Miyo over to where she had been playing in the sandbox. The other children took notice and looked at each other as if determining whether they should go over there too, or not.

I rested my cheek in my palm and watched silently. Miyo was a good kid.. a little accident-prone, but.. Kayumi looked comfortable.

There's a sudden tug on the back of my shirt and I look over my shoulder.

"Shizu-chan," Izaya said blandly, yanking just a little harder on my shirt, "Mind talking to me inside?"

Oh here we go.

"Sure," I agreed, and felt him let go of my shirt when I stood. I followed him inside the Daycare Center, though we both walked straight over to a window to be able to see the children outside. He crossed his arms and spun around to face me.

"Are you gay or not?" He asked bluntly. Heh, I probably would have decked you after all the sexual harassment if I wasn't.

"I already told you I am," I replied, stuffing my hands in my pockets and looking out the window toward the sandbox.

"Then explain the kid!" He huffed. I raised a brow at the tamed irritation. I figured the guy liked me to some degree, but he had no reason to be angry.

"Sorry that this is so sudden, but by law we're allowed to have up to eight kids here, so it's alright."

"That's not the point. You have a kid, Shizu-chan! I've never even heard you talk about her!" Izaya pushed, gesturing toward the window with an expression of disbelief. I winced.

"It's... a complicated situation, alright? And for the love of this center, do _not_ let her hear that," I pleaded. I adored Kayumi beyond anything else in this world, but I felt uncomfortable saying I had a child, because questions I did not want to answer would surely follow. Questions like the ones glimmering in the scarlet eyes in front of me.

He stared at me as if I was going to crack and give more answers, before frowning and looking away.

"So vague," he said with an almost pout. I rolled my eyes and decided to change the subject.

"In other news, when do you want me to help you out with your apartment?"

His eyes widened as he turned back to me.

"You'll help?"

"Well, I don't think a crabby old man and a bitchy woman will be much help, will they? And you're a scrawny little thing, so you're doomed." He huffed at the insult, "But Kayumi will have to tag along."

"Hm.." he hummed with a frown.

"Don't give me that disappointed look," I said dryly, wondering what was spinning in that head of his at the thought of us being alone. Izaya wasn't a horrible guy by any means, he just had this air about him where you could never tell if he was serious or not. I wasn't into all the little mind games and constant jokes, being a more straight-forward person than anything else, so I could really never see us trying to be anything more than friends. I do admit, he is eye-candy, though. However, flings in a workplace always end up in disaster and a fling wasn't even what I was looking for. I had my fun when I was young, and look what happened.

Not saying that I regret Kayumi at _all._

Scampering little feet were heard running across the porch and wooden floor before Hideki appeared from around the corner.

"Iza-sensei! I'm thirsty!" Hideki exclaimed.

"Juice or water?" Izaya asked, putting an arm around the boy's shoulders and leading him to the kitchen.

"Juice!" I heard Hideki answer before they disappeared. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I actually hoped Izaya didn't have too many belongings. I wanted as much free time as I could get with Kayumi before the week was over. My eyes fell to said girl playing with Miyo in the sandbox. It looked like Sayu and Kyo had joined them as well. I couldn't see Sosuke and Takeshi, and that concerned me.

I made my way back outside, intent on finding the two boys, when movement at the front gate caught my eye. I immediately scowled when I saw who was standing there.

Fucking great.

With her gray hair in a mass of tiny curls on her head, beady little eyes that forever squinted, abnormally large nose, and pudgy little body, Sanada Kaede stood with a clipboard and pen in hand. Her proper title would be Health Inspector, but I inwardly just referred to her as Old Hag.

"Sanada-san! What a surprise!" I greeted with all the cheerfulness I could possibly muster up. She just straightened out her coat, looking about as happy as a kid whose dog just died, and scanned the yard with those beady little eyes.

"Of course it's a surprise. Would we tell you when we're coming?" She asked, and then scribbled something on her clipboard. I felt my eyebrow twitch and smiled so big my cheeks hurt.

"Of course not. Can I offer you something to drink? Tea, water?" I prompted, falling into step behind her as she began surveying the yard.

"I will have to check the kitchen before I accept anything, thank you very much Heiwajima-san."

You snobby old woman. I kept the kitchen clean!

"Shizuo-sensei!" I turned upon hearing my name, seeing Hideki run up to me with his newly acquired juice box, "Iza-sensei said he wanted to talk to you!"

Ah, we did get interrupted earlier.. but I figured we were done. He wasn't going to keep hounding me with questions, was he?

As I opened my mouth to answer, Old Hag swiftly stepped in front of me and snatched the juice box out of Hideki's hand. The little boy looked startled and held his hands up in the air uselessly.

"Look how many grams of sugar is in this!" She screeched, shaking her head, "Have more healthy options for these children!"

I took a deep breath.

"We offer water, Sanada-san. The children are only allowed one juice box a day," I tried to reason, though I knew it was a pointless attempt. I just kept looking down at Hideki, who had the puppy eyes of doom directed at Old Hag, but she didn't have the heart to pay them any mind.

"Way too much sugar," she repeated, and continued her rounds, taking the juice box. I winced and ruffled Hideki's hair as I passed.

"Sorry bud, we'll get you some later, okay?" I whispered. He still looked sad, but nodded, and I scurried off to follow Old Hag again.

We approached the sandbox and the children looked up at us. Old Hag stared them down with a growing scowl.

"They're filthy," she stated, and I couldn't help but stare at her incredulously.

"They're... playing in a sandbox," I said slowly.

"Do you think their mothers would be happy if they came to pick them up like this right now?" Old Hag asked. I looked at the children. Judging by the gaping hole in the sandbox, they were burying themselves, and definitely were covered in sand. … but they were children. Of course they would do that, "This is why men should never be in charge of taking care of children."

I clenched my jaw. More than anything, this woman was an avid feminist, and made an enemy out of me the moment we met. I'm pretty damn sure she _tried_ to come up with petty excuses to close us down. It hadn't worked yet and I bet my house on it it never will.

But I still had to put up with her, and that was a major pain in the ass.

"Should we go inside now? Lets get you out of this heat," I said, gesturing toward the house even if it wasn't all that hot. She just gave me a sharp look as if I were trying to hide something before finally taking her first steps toward the house. I happened to look over at the three trouble makers, who were watching from under a shade tree. Sosuke was looking at Old Hag and pointing a finger at his open mouth like he was going to throw up, and the other boys were chuckling.

For once in my life, I was on Sosuke's side.

"Tell me all the toys and food you have in supply," Old Hag demanded once we got on the porch. I saw Izaya walk outside and look surprised upon seeing her.

"Sanada-san, how good to see you," Izaya said smoothly.

"Charmed. You're blocking the doorway, Orihara-san."

Izaya sidestepped and glanced at me. I glanced back and frowned before listing all our toys and food items as requested. I was pleased to say Old Hag couldn't find anything bad to write down on her little clipboard inside. We cleaned up every evening, kept anything harmful in locked drawers, secured bookshelves or other hazardous furniture that could fall, and had a proper fire escape plan that all of the kids could follow with their eyes closed.

Yes, I am bragging.

Even so, I was in a foul mood by the time Old Hag and her tight little curls were walking out of the front gates.

"Isn't she just the sweetest thing?" Izaya jested as soon as she left. I snorted.

"If any of her pathetic little excuses get us in trouble, someone's getting hurt."

"Scary Shizu-chan!" Izaya exclaimed with a grin, leaning away from me as if he was going to be my target.

"What did you want to talk to me about, anyway?"

"Oh, helping me move. Cause you're such a sweet guy!" He chirped, and I narrowed my eyes when he did the complete opposite of his move earlier and leaned _toward_ me, "What time do you want to get started?"

"Early. I want it done," I replied, sipping at one of the juice boxes Old Hag had been so thoroughly against. It may be out of spite, but I also just love sugar.

"A no foreplay kind of guy, hm?" Izaya asked, suddenly hugging one of my arms with his own, "Usually I don't like that, but I'll make an exception with you~"

"Ha. Ha ha," I said dryly, wriggling my arm without much strength, "You try way too hard."

"You can never be too hard, Shizu-chan," he said with a grin. The finger I felt run down my arm finally got me to pull away from him.

"Pull anything like this tomorrow when Kayumi is around and I'll kill you," I said with a smile, before leaving him on the porch and walking toward the sandbox. The day was growing long, and the kids did need a wipe-down before their parents came to pick them up, "Alright kids, lets get you cleaned up!"

There were disappointed sounds from Kyo and Miyo, but Kayumi and Sayu immediately stood and started brushing what sand they could off of themselves.

At the end of the day, none of the kids' parents had anything to complain about, as it should be. I brought Kayumi in my office, and noticed she still had some sand behind her neck and in her hair.

"Lets sit you up here," I said, bending down to pick her up and sit her on the side of the desk. I lifted her hair and dabbed at the back of her neck with a wet cloth as she looked around my office.

"... who drew that?" She asked. I looked up to see Sayu's purple-nosed dog on the bulletin board.

"Sayu colored it for me," I answered, shaking some sand out of her hair. When I was sure I got it all, I threw the cloth in a small laundry basket.

"I wanna color you something! And then you gotta put it up on the board!" She suddenly exclaimed, reaching forward to tug at my shirt. I chuckled.

"Of course I will. I'll look forward to it," I promised, kissing her forehead before helping her back down to the floor, "Go put your shoes on and wait for me."

She nodded and jogged away. Izaya came in not two seconds later, throwing another rag in the laundry basket.

"So seven sharp?" He asked me, leaning on my desk. I wrote the last number down in our accounts book and shut it.

"Sure."

"You even know my address?" He asks with a sly grin.

"It's on record," I say simply, and the grin vanishes with a long sigh.

"Spoil sport," he muttered, and I chuckled as we walked out of the room. He saw Kayumi and smiled, bending down, "You take care of this old man, alright?"

My brow twitched.

".. I'm not old," I mumbled, slipping my own shoes on and taking hold of my daughter's hand.

* * *

><p><em>If Shizuo seems unaffected by Izaya's advances, GOOD. Shizuo doesn't consider Izaya right now, but I promise that will change soon ^_^!<em>

_XxMikomiAixX - Oooo, that sounds so fun :D! I'm currently in college to become an elementary teacher, so I obviously love kids, and this story is so fun to write ^_^_

_Pezlie - LOL Yeah, I'd be very afraid of canon Izaya around kids, but this is my Izaya :D!_

_AsikIkisa - Yeeep, I filled this :3 Hope you like Kayumi so far!_

_xBlackCherryBlossomx - :333 Thank you~!_

_KonoBeat - I totally see Shizuo as someone who would be wonderful with kids! He'd just have to be careful about his strength X3_


	3. Weekend With Izaya P1

**Title:** Handle With Care**  
>Author: <strong>MistressKiko**  
>Rating:<strong> T** (for now. May go up)**  
><strong>Pairing: <strong>Shizuo x Izaya  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I own none of these characters!

**THIS STORY CONTAINS MALExMALE RELATIONSHIPS**. You have been warned.

* * *

><p>At 6:50 AM on Saturday morning, I found myself in front of Izaya's apartment, staring at the gold-plated 616 on the door. The whole building was nicely carpeted and colorful, all-around welcoming and in a good neighborhood. If I had this set-up, there would be no way I would move. I almost wondered how much the rent was here, but then thought about the distance from the daycare center and shook the thought out of my head.<p>

"Can I knock?" Kayumi asked, looking up at me hopefully.

"Be sure to knock hard," I told her, wondering if her little hands would be able to be heard. She nodded, and in true determination, curled her hands into fists and rapped on the door. I chuckled when she pulled back and looked at her hand like the action had hurt her.

I swear it took two seconds before I heard the lock being undone, and then the door was opened to reveal a grinning Izaya.

"Good morning!" He greeted, opening the door wide and stepping aside. I followed Kayumi inside as she greeted him back.

"You sure look happy," I said curiously as I slipped off my shoes. Izaya shut the door behind us.

"Of course I am, Shizu-chan!" Izaya exclaimed, turning his attention to Kayumi, "I have a beautiful little girl helping me out today!"

Kayumi blushed and ducked her head.

Hey, no hitting on my daughter.

"Nice place," I say absentmindedly, looking around. The first thing I noticed was that it was very... furnished, "... don't tell me you haven't even started."

"Why would I start without you?" Izaya replied, and I had an urge to smack him in the head, "Ah, how about some tea?"

"Green tea?" Kayumi asked, scurrying after him as he walked toward the kitchen.

"Of course I have green tea~"

I inhaled deeply, and exhaled as I walked around the living room. The couch would be difficult.. the entertainment center would be difficult too.. Kayumi could probably help with the decorations and photographs lining the shelves.

I stopped at said photographs and studied the people in Izaya's life that I didn't know. There was a picture of him when he was younger, his arms wrapped around two smaller girls whom shared his strange eye color. I wondered if they were his siblings, and then snickered at his shorter hair. It was a good decision to grow it out a bit, in my opinion.

In the next one, Izaya was clearly holding the camera up and grinning widely as the brunette female next to him looked entirely bored, staring somewhere off camera. The same woman was in the next picture, sitting next to him with that same utterly bored look, and sitting on his other side was an older gentleman in white glaring at the camera.

I had to chuckle. These were the pictures he chose to showcase on his mantle? Usually people were _happy_ in pictures!

"And what exactly are you laughing at?"

I looked over my shoulder to see Izaya behind me, looking at the photos.

"I have a feeling I'm looking at the crabby old man and bitchy woman?" I asked, amused when he hopelessly sighed.

"Yeah, that'd be them, though it's Shiki and Namie to their faces," he replied, and then held up his cup of tea, "Tea?"

"Nah, I'm good. Where do we start?"

As I thought, we began with the decorations and photos, wrapping breakables in newspaper and letting Kayumi carefully place them in boxes. I raised a brow when I came across a small knife collection under Izaya's bed.

"Knives?" I asked, running my finger over one of the handles. Izaya appeared from out of the closet, carrying a rather tall pile of clothing.

"Hm? Oh those," he said, setting the pile of clothing down on the bed and bending down to join me on the floor. He grabbed one out of the box, and flicked the blade out with a grin, "Wanna see something interesting?"

"... with knives? Do I?" I asked wearily, staring at the sharp blade.

"Aw, don't worry. I wouldn't try to kill you before I got a kiss from you," he replied teasingly, purposefully dropping his gaze to my lips. The corners of my lips tugged upward.

"Perfect reason to never kiss you," I reasoned, chuckling when he sighed and stood.

"I'm almost disappointed by how uninterested you are," Izaya commented, walking back toward his closet.

"Almost?"

He reached in his closet and pulled out a circular wooden board that resembled something darts would be used on, though the holes in the board were long and slender instead of little dots.

"I tend to like a good chase," he continued, hanging the board on a nail in the wall, "Hopefully my awesome skills will win you in my favor, hm~?"

I raised a brow and snorted, amused though curious. It wasn't like I was an asshole who wasn't concerned about others' feelings toward me, but it was so hard taking this man seriously.

"Show me these awesome skills," I insisted, watching him walk to the opposite side of the room than the board. He grinned and took hold of the blade, swinging it back over his shoulder as if he were about to throw something. I realized he _was_ going to throw the knife and widened my eyes, looking back and forth between the board and him.

He closed one eye, concentrating, and then with a step forward, swung his arm, flicked his wrist, and sent the knife spiraling through the air. The blade sank straight into the board, almost exactly in dead center. I whistled.

"What were you before you worked at the daycare, an assassin?" I joked, turning my head when I heard sudden clapping. Kayumi was standing in the doorway looking doe-eyed at the wooden board.

No, Kayumi, you will not get into knife throwing, of all things. Daddy's order.

"Ha ha! Maybe," Izaya answered me before turning toward Kayumi, "Pretty awesome, hm?"

Kayumi had walked further in the room to examine the knife and board more closely.

"One-hundred points!" She exclaimed, and Izaya started doing some silly dance that sent her into a hundred giggles. I eyed the scene warmly before sinking back down to the floor and feeling for anything else possibly under Izaya's bed.

"Alright kids, back to work," I commented. Izaya ran behind Kayumi and placed his hands on her shoulders, steering her in the direction of the door.

"You heard him! Lets go eat some cookies!"

"That is _not_ work!" I exclaimed, but Izaya had already guided her out of the room. I sighed and shook my head, figured as long as Kayumi was having fun it was okay, and pulled out another box from underneath the mattress.

After all the little knick-knacks were loaded up into boxes and stacked in the living room, I wiped my brow and took refuge underneath Izaya's ceiling fan. The furniture would be next, and that large entertainment center had to have a way to take it apart.. otherwise I wasn't sure we would be able to move it.

"Here you go," Izaya spoke, offering me a cold glass of ice water. I took it gratefully and chugged it down.

"Thanks," I replied with a refreshed sigh, "That thing come apart?"

I pointed to the entertainment center and received a nod.

"Yeah, I have a bag of tools somewhere around here. We can take it apart, but then I guess we're done for today. I rented a moving truck that won't be here until tomorrow, so nothing can be done with the furniture right now," he explained before taking a drink of his own water, yanking on the front of his shirt in an effort to cool himself.

"So where'd you learn the knife throwing stuff?" I asked conversationally, figuring we were taking a little break. Kayumi was sitting on the couch holding her cup of water with both hands, swinging her legs and listening in.

"Shiki. Or the crabby old man," Izaya verified, and I smirked, "Nah, he's really only in his thirties; I just like pissing him off by calling him that. But yeah, he taught me how to throw when I was in high school. No real reason; instead of darts, we upped the ante."

"Unique," I commented. He turned and chose to sit down next to Kayumi, who gave him a smile.

"You just described my entire life in one word," Izaya replied, and then turned to Kayumi, "What about you, missy? Have any hobbies?"

I had to admit, I was very happy Izaya always gave Kayumi attention. I didn't want her to be bored while she stayed with me, because even if it was an insecure thought, I never wanted her to feel like she didn't want to come back.

"I swim a lot," Kayumi answered politely, shoving the ice around in her cup, "Mom's house has a big pool!"

I felt a small, uncomfortable twinge in my chest as Kayumi unknowingly revealed something that I, her father, didn't even know about her. I should try to play twenty-one questions with her when we got home.

"Lucky~ I never had a pool," Izaya answered. Kayumi beamed at him.

"You can come swim if you wanna!" She invited in all her childish innocence, "I'd just need to ask momma or Kenji."

What made Izaya chuckle made Shizuo choke.

"Kenji?" Shizuo asked, the name foreign on his tongue. Kayumi looked up in surprise and then down at her glass.

"Uh huh. Kenji is mommy's boyfriend," she answered, flicking another ice cube. I stared at her, and took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.

A boyfriend. So Vorona was dating again. Of course she would.

… why didn't she _tell _me? Did she not think I had a right to know my daughter was hanging around another man? A potential father-figure? Someone who got to spend much more time with her than I do? I bet this Kenji person knew she loved swimming...!

Suddenly in a terrible mood, I headed for the kitchen to place my glass in the sink.

"Izaya, where is that bag of tools? I want to get started," I said tightly, filling the glass with tap water and then realizing nothing but water had been in the glass, so I yanked the faucet spout back down to turn it off.

"Er, in the hall closet. I'll get them," he offered, giving me an odd look before walking to said closet. The odd look made me realize I was alarming people around me, and I tried to settle down. No reason to make things awkward. For good measure, I even looked at Kayumi and smiled.

"You know which tools are which?" I asked, leaning on the counter. Kayumi shook her head no, "Well I'll have to teach you then, 'cause you're going to be my little helper."

She looked pleased with that, and got up off the couch, running to the kitchen and handing me her glass. I set it down in the sink and walked back into the living room, Izaya soon joining us with the tools.

When all was done, the wooden shelves and sides stacked against the wall, Kayumi tied the bag of nails she'd been put in charge of tightly. Izaya thanked her when she handed it to him, and that concluded our first day.

"What time do you want to start tomorrow?" Izaya asked me as we stepped around boxes to get to the front door.

"Same time would be good. We're actually moving things to the other apartment tomorrow, right?" I asked, watching Kayumi's back as she sat down and started putting on her shoes.

"Yeah," I heard Izaya answer behind me. And then I felt something hover over my side, and a soft warmth against my cheek, "Thank you."

"I tied them!" Kayumi exclaimed proudly, but I was too busy gaping back at Izaya to look at her.

This little bastard just _kissed_ me on the cheek!

"Stay here for a sec, Kayumi," I said, grabbing hold of Izaya's arm and pulling him further in the house. Once out of sight, I pulled him close and hissed, "I thought I told you no funny stuff while Kayumi was here!"

"Chiiiill out, Shizu-chan," Izaya replied, looking far too amused, "I waited until her back was turned!"

"That doesn't make it okay!"

Izaya's smile morphed into a frown, and he crossed his arms.

"Why not?"

I was dumbfounded for a moment.

"... why not?" I repeated.

"Why can't I flirt with you if you haven't turned me down?" Izaya asked boldly. I felt that cumbersome feeling again, where I didn't know if he was being serious or not, though this was probably the most serious I'd seen him.

"Haa... are you.. well... serious?" I asked slowly. He actually rolled his eyes at me.

"As serious as I can be while not knowing _why_ you have a _daughter_," he sighed.

Oh.

Well.

Awkward.

I was at a loss for what to say.

"Daddy?"

Thankfully Kayumi's voice filtered through the house, sounding curious.

"Coming!" I assured her, rubbing the back of my neck with my hand. Izaya suddenly sighed and uncrossed his arms.

"Just think about it, ne?" He asked before turning on his heel to walk back out in the living room. I sighed in relief and followed, patting Kayumi on the head when I got back to the front door.

"What do we say?" I asked. Kayumi turned to Izaya and gave a short bow.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed.

"Thank_ you_," Izaya replied, waving good-bye to her as we left. Our eyes met for the brief second before I shut the door.

I had some thinking to do.

And think I did, when I was tucked tightly under my covers in a dark room much later. I stared up at the ceiling, my head rested on the arms folded behind me, sleepy, but not quite sleepy enough to stop my brain from spinning.

Izaya, hm?

I'd already made it clear that he was eye-candy. Definitely nothing wrong in the physical attraction department.

But emotional attraction? I was lecturing him more often than not for that flippant attitude.. it almost seemed more parental.

I snorted at the thought.

And a relationship with a coworker? That just screams trouble if we ever had a fight or broke up... children were very perceptive creatures; there was no way they wouldn't feel tension between their two senseis.

I still didn't understand why the guy didn't go make something of himself with those smarts of his. Did he just not want to put much effort into one of those higher paying jobs?

… well. Taking care of children definitely required effort.

I realized I was lying here trying to convince myself Izaya was some sort of bad guy, and shook my head. Good things, good things...

He was great with the kids, both in and out of work. He wasn't afraid of speaking his mind and knew who he was.

He had a great ass, but that was irrelevant.

… was he trustworthy? Just thinking about explaining my past and how Kayumi came to be made me cringe. Very few people knew, and the people who did were friends of mine for years. There was nothing fun about talking about one of the hardest times of your life.

At the sound of my bedroom door opening, I raised my head. Kayumi's blonde head peaked inside.

"Kayumi?" I asked, sitting up, "Everything okay?"

".. can I sleep with you?" She asked, still hiding behind the door.

"Did you have a nightmare?" I asked, scooting to the side and patting the covers, "Come on up."

With permission granted, she ran in, a white stuffed bear held tightly within the crook of her arm. She hefted herself up on the bed and crawled over to me, slipping her little body beneath the covers.

"Thank you," she mumbled, her voice muffled by the bear she was hugging against her face. I smiled and lied back down, running my fingers through her bangs.

".. ne, Kayumi?"

"Hm?"

"Do you like Izaya?"

"Iza-chan is really nice."

"... Iza-chan?"

"He told me I could call him that."

I grinned and kissed her on the forehead.

"Goodnight. I'll keep all those bad monsters away."

She giggled.

"G'night daddy."

* * *

><p><em>Pezlie: My Shizuo is a lot nicer than canon, I know that XD And yes, I left his strength out on purpose.<em>

_Midnight Reader: You are correct! xD_

_XxMikomiAixX: Thank you for the suggestion, I shall keep it in mind!_

_Fresco di Mastio: I LOVE Waifu-Izaya 8D *shot _

_Vanbrig: oooo, thank you for letting me know! I will remember that if I ever want to put something like it in future stories :3_

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you make my day 83!_


	4. Weekend With Izaya P2

**Title:** Handle With Care**  
>Author: <strong>MistressKiko**  
>Rating:<strong> T** (for now. May go up)**  
><strong>Pairing: <strong>Shizuo x Izaya  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I own none of these characters!

**THIS STORY CONTAINS MALExMALE RELATIONSHIPS**. You have been warned.

* * *

><p><strong>Shizuo's POV<strong>

The following morning held a surprising encounter. Kayumi was inches away from knocking on Izaya's door, when said door flew open, revealing a woman looking rather pissed off. Kayumi jumped and ran behind me, grasping at my pant leg. I placed a hand on her head to calm her down, realizing that the woman in front of us was the one in Izaya's photographs.

The bitchy woman.

Damn, she sure looked the part.

She stopped her stomping to take a look at us, and I heard Izaya's voice somewhere in the house.

"Er.. good morning?" I offered when she didn't speak. She crossed her arms, raking her eyes up and down my body like I had something to hide. I didn't like it in the least.

"Was that Shizu-chan?" I heard Izaya speak again, followed by footsteps until he appeared in the doorway, "You're a little early!"

The bitchy woman turned to him at that moment.

"He's not better than Seiji," she spoke before resuming her stomping down the hall. I raised a brow curiously at the rising pinkness of Izaya's cheeks, but the raven quickly pulled himself together and leaned out of the doorway.

"But Namie-chan~! This one doesn't have a girlfriend!" Izaya shouted between two cupped hands, the sentence echoing in the hallway. I saw the woman tense dramatically and whip herself around, looking like she was going to stomp right back over and possibly beat the hell out of Izaya, but before she could do so, Izaya had grabbed my arm and dragged Kayumi and I inside.

Ah, the safety of locks.

"Izaya!" I heard the woman's muffled shout, followed by a loud pound against the door, "I'll shove those knives down your throat on Tuesday!"

"Looking forward to it, hun!" Izaya responded, with a chuckle.

"... scary," Kayumi mumbled, burying her face in my pant leg.

"Hey, sweetie, they're just... playing," I said, running a hand through her hair.

"Ack, sorry Kayumi-chan!" Izaya said, bending down to her eye level, "That big bad meanie is gone now, and I'm glad you're here, 'cause I have something only you can do for me!"

He held his hand out to her, and I swear it was a complete 180 as she smiled and took his hand.

"Dare I ask who Seiji and why I'm being compared to him?" I asked, following them into Izaya's room. Dare I ask what he's been saying to his friends about me, for that matter.

He looked over his shoulder with a sheepish grin.

"Seiji would be Namie's brother," Izaya answered, stopping in front of his desk before focusing on Kayumi, "Alright, all my important papers are in these drawers! Can I trust you to neatly stack them in this box, hm?"

"Yes sir!" Kayumi exclaimed with a salute.

"Thank you. I need your dad in the living room, so just check up on us when you're finished," Izaya instructed, patting her on the back before walking toward me. I turned and started heading for the living room, leaning closer to him.

"How important are those papers? She _is_ a little girl, you know," I whispered.

"Don't worry about it," Izaya spoke, waving it off, "I have my stuff under control. What I don't have under control is this heavy couch."

I smirked, looking down at his lithe body. He really was a skinny little thing.

"Do you have _any_ muscle?" I teased, sliding a hand beneath his sleeve and gripping at his upper arm. It was warm and toned.

"Well you have more muscle and I have more brains. Perfect pair, hm?" Izaya asked with a smirk. I let my hand drop from his arm and considered the words.

"... that was an insult to my intelligence, wasn't it?" I asked balefully, to which he laughed.

"Aaaand point made!" He exclaimed, practically skipping to one side of the couch, "You go on that side. Let's try to get this baby turned longways first."

"You know you're a bastard, right?" I asked with a smile.

"Watch your mouth! Kayumi-chan could have heard that!" Izaya reprimanded, and I chuckled.

It was a long and tiring day. Some of the furniture Izaya owned was damn heavy. Kayumi helped in the best way she could, becoming our navigator to make sure we didn't bump into walls or doors while transporting things from his apartment to his rented moving truck. Even though the apartments were inside, the hallways were not well air-conditioned, and the running back and forth into the sun outside left us all sweating.

"It's hot," Kayumi justified that fact, pulling moodily on my pant leg.

"It is," I agreed, peeling my shirt off. So was a privilege of being a guy, but Kayumi had nothing to relieve her of the heat. I reached behind her and grabbed at her hair, pulling it up and away from her neck, "Hey Izaya!"

The raven was in his room getting the last of his stuff.

"Yeah?" I heard him call right before he showed up in the doorway, carrying two bags.

"Do you have a hair tie or a rubber band or something to put Kayumi's hair up with?" I asked, wiping at the sweat on the back of Kayumi's neck.

"I do. … somewhere," Izaya answered, setting down his bags and walking toward some of the few boxes left in the apartment.

"Daddy, I'm hungry too," Kayumi whined, tugging harder at my pant leg. I chuckled at her little scrunched nose. Being hungry and hot was surely irritating her.

"We're almost done here. I'll get you something," I offered, brushing my fingers through her hair. The strands were really soft. Her hair was exactly like her mother's.

"Found one!" Izaya announced, holding up the rubber band, "And don't worry about food. I'll cook for you guys when we get to my new place~!"

Izaya frolicked over and took a seat on the floor next to Kayumi. She took the hint and turned around so he could have at her hair.

"Cook?" I inquired. There was no reason to do that.. though my stomach did like the sound of some homemade food.

"Hey, I'm a pretty good cook. What's your favorite kind of meat, Kayumi-chan?"

"Steak!"

"Well then we'll have to get some steak. You don't mind stopping at a store, ne Shizu-chan?" Izaya asked, looking at me even though he was tying the rubber band. Or should I say looking at my chest. It amazed me how shameless this guy was sometimes. I mean, yes, Izaya was hot, but I would never blatantly stare.

"That's fine," I answered, hearing Kayumi giggle at the same time, "What?"

"'Shizu-chan'. It's cute," Kayumi said in amusement.

I had an insane urge to facepalm. Izaya just grinned and stood after the ponytail was tied tightly.

"Right? Isn't it a great name?" Izaya asked her.

"I hate you," I muttered, grabbing a box.

"You do not," Izaya countered, once again snatching the two bags he'd come out of the room with. Kayumi took hold of the last box and we walked out the door, Izaya locking it behind us.

"And what if I called you Iza-chan?" I asked as we walked down the hallway, remembering Kayumi's words from the night before. Izaya purposefully slowed down so Kayumi was ahead of us and leaned in close to me, brushing arms.

"How about something more like 'baby'," he whispered. I shivered at the seductive tone of his voice, even feeling my cheeks warm a bit. He chuckled and leaned away, picking up speed.

My eyes subconsciously dropped to his ass as he walked.

Damn, I was starting to become more conscious of him, wasn't I?

* * *

><p>The smell of the sizzling meat was nearly making my mouth water. After a quick stop at a grocery store, Izaya had driven us to his new apartment complex. We decided to get some energy in us before beginning the daunting task of bringing everything up in the new apartment, so we left all but what we could take up in one trip down in the truck and came up to eat. The apartment itself was nice and clean, though hot because the air conditioner hadn't been running. It was cooling down fairly quickly, though, as Kayumi and I sat on same blankets we'd brought up, awaiting our meal.<p>

"You did not."

"I did, I did!" Kayumi exclaimed with wide eyes, quickly holding up three fingers, "I ate three whole slices of pizza by myself!"

I chuckled at how proud she sounded.

"Better watch that or this little tummy is going to get round!" I playfully warned, leaning forward to poke said belly. She giggled, shying away from the touch, and I smirked before pouncing on her and wiggling my fingers all over her belly. She shrieked and laughed, attempting to push my arms away and kicking her feet.

"S.. sto.. stop! Please! Hahaha!" She yelled, face reddening from laughter.

"Well since you said please..." I chuckled, pulling back. She giggled a bit more, lying still before looking up at me and crawling over in my lap. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her, "Ne, Izaya is taking a long time with our food, isn't he?"

"Iza-chan! We're hungry!" She yelled loudly, looking toward the kitchen.

"What am I? A servant?" Izaya shouted back, and I snorted, "It's almost done!"

"He's just slow," I joked, and Kayumi giggled again, leaning her head back to look up at me.

"Are we coming over here tomorrow too?" She asked.

"Izaya and I have to go back to work tomorrow," I answered.

"Oh," she spoke with a frown, "I get to come too right?"

"Of course you will. I'm sure Miyo-chan is looking forward to playing with you again."

She put her head down and leaned back into my chest.

"Alright, my impatient duo," Izaya spoke, coming around the corner holding a plate of seasoned steak bits, "It isn't much but I didn't have time to cook up something fantastic!"

He sat the big plate of steak down and ran back in the kitchen to get chopsticks and bowls of rice. Kayumi scooted out of my lap and clapped enthusiastically with an, "Itadakimasu!"

"Thanks for this," I said to Izaya, breaking my chopsticks apart.

"No problem, Shizu-chan!" He replied with a grin. I heard Kayumi snicker again and glared at her. She looked away as if she were innocent, and Izaya laughed, "Hey Kayumi-chan, is there anything you want to do at the daycare center tomorrow?"

"Like what?" Kayumi asked curiously. I nibbled on a piece of steak and found it surprisingly good.

"Whatever you want. We don't have a pool, though," Izaya replied.

"Mmm..." Kayumi hummed, taking a bite of rice, "Oh, can we draw? I wanna draw daddy something to hang on the board!"

I heard Izaya say something along the lines of acceptance, but the ringing in my pocket took my attention away. I reached inside to take hold of my phone, and felt that same little twinge in my stomach that I always got when I saw the caller.

"Hello?" I answered, vaguely noticing Izaya and Kayumi looking at me in curiosity.

"Hello?" I heard Vorona answer. There was a lot of commotion in the background.

"Yeah, I can hear you," I said.

"Oh, good. Is Kayumi there?" She asked.

"Yeah, one sec," I sighed, offering the phone to Kayumi, "It's your mom."

"Mommy?" Kayumi exclaimed into the phone. I managed a smile and grabbed at some rice with my chopsticks. I was about to take a bite when I noticed Izaya's stare. I raised an eyebrow at him, and he faked a pout.

"Jerk," he said quietly, with a teasing stare. I just barely heard him over Kayumi's talking. With a glance at Kayumi, I got to my knees and scooted around the plate of meat until I was sitting next to Izaya.

"Vorona. She's Kayumi's mother," I said, grabbing at another piece of meat and setting it in my rice bowl. That's all I was planning on divulging, however, especially with Kayumi sitting right there, "And you? Family, sisters, brothers, secret lovers?"

I looked at him as I asked this, amused to see surprise flash over his expression.

"Mom, dad, two twin sisters, no brothers, and a mirror," he answered. It took me a bit to understand the last part and I snorted loudly. He just grinned cheerfully.

"You're so vain," I chuckled, taking another bite, "So I was right in assuming those two girls in that picture were your siblings."

"Mairu and Kururi. They're a hassle, but you have to love them," Izaya answered, turning his body toward me, "Kayumi-chan doesn't have any siblings I should know about, right?"

"Only child. I have a sibling, though. Younger brother named Kasuka," I replied.

"Bet you fought a lot."

"Actually, quite the opposite. I love Kasuka a lot."

"I envy you. My sisters thought locking me in the closet for a day was amusing."

I chuckled, "Surely you got them back?"

"Oh of course. No one gets away with tricking me without being punished."

".. that's quite a scary expression."

"A little devil is never a bad thing."

"This is good steak, by the way," I complimented, picking up a piece for emphasis.

"So.. Vorona. Doesn't sound Japanese," Izaya continued casually.

"She's Russian. Kayumi's blond hair is natural, I dye mine."

"... I'm trying to imagine you with dark hair and I can't do it."

"I like it better like this."

"Do you think I'd look good with blond hair?" He asked with a grin. I looked at his hair and tried to hold in a laugh.

"I don't think you could pull it off."

"Ouch, shot down immediately."

"Black suits you. Goes with your... abnormally pale skin. Seriously, get more sun."

"I just don't tan easily~!"

"Daddy?"

I quickly looked away from Izaya to see Kayumi holding my cell phone out to me.

"Ah, thanks," I said, taking the phone from her and shoving it back in my pocket, "Did she just want to check up on you?"

"Yep! She's been super busy at work, but she says she likes the city," Kayumi informed. Not having much to say to that, I shoveled more food in my mouth.

"Where's your mom at, Kayumi-chan?" Izaya asked conversationally.

"Osaka!" Kayumi replied.

Once again, my pocket rang, and I furrowed my eyebrows as I reached for the phone. I blinked seeing Sosuke's house number before answering.

"Hello, Heiwajima Shizuo here."

"Heiwajima-san, this is Sosuke's mother."

"How are you today ma'am?"

"I'm fine, but unfortunately Sosuke isn't. He's come down with a fever and I just wanted to call and let you know I'm staying home to take care of him tomorrow, so we won't be coming to daycare."

"Ah, I see. No problem. I hope Sosuke gets better soon."

After some more pleasantries and good-byes, I hung up.

"What about Sosuke-kun?" Izaya asked.

"Looks like he has a fever and won't be there tomorrow," I said, maybe just a tad bit happy. Sure, I didn't like the fact Sosuke was sick, but the little trouble maker wouldn't be around Kayumi, so that was nice.

"I hate being sick," Kayumi piped in, scrunching up her nose.

"I do too," Izaya answered, trying to mimic her disgruntled expression. I laughed at both of them and Izaya looked at me as he continued, "Wanna bet he did the light bulb to the head trick? A new anime he wanted to see starts tomorrow."

… sigh, that boy...

…

I suddenly glared at Izaya.

"You wouldn't have taught him that little light bulb trick, would yo-"

"Alright, who wants dessert?" Izaya suddenly exclaimed, taking one more bite of meat before standing. I smirked and shook my head.

"You are horrible."

"I am amazing, because I bought strawberry popsicles!" He claimed.

"I hope you know you don't have to make everything strawberry," I replied, standing to follow him into the kitchen. Kayumi continued eating, having been interrupted by her mother's call.

"But I know you like strawberry," Izaya said as I rounded the corner into the kitchen. He placed his rice bowl in the sink and twirled around to get to the freezer.

"I like many other things too."

"Like what?" Izaya asked. The chill from the open freezer made me shiver as I set my own bowl in the sink.

"Onigiri. As long as they aren't filled with anything sour. Cheeseburgers. Milk..."

"You're purposefully avoiding sweets, aren't you?" Izaya asked with a grin, holding up a red popsicle, "I know your love of sugar."

"Exactly. I know you know. That's why I'm letting you know what you don't know," I said with a grin, taking the popsicle. He raised a brow and leaned back on the counter, looking contemplative.

"Number one, that was quite a mouth-full. And number two, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're acting more interested in me now?" Izaya chuckled. I knew it was said as a joke, accompanied with a sexy little grin meant to make me scoff. I found the corners of my lips tugging upward on instinct.

I gave my popsicle a little suck and shrugged.

"Maybe," I replied, and looked at him just long enough to see the surprise, before turning around and heading back out in the living room. I chuckled to myself. If teasing him was this fun, no wonder he loved doing it to me.

* * *

><p><em>I would love to reply to every single one of your reviews, and yes I read them all, but I am so freaking tired right now XD; I APOLOGIZE for taking so long for this chapter to get up, I've kinda been in a slump lately, but I hope you enjoy!<em>


	5. Weekend With Izaya P3

**Title:** Handle With Care**  
>Author: <strong>MistressKiko**  
>Rating:<strong> T** (for now. May go up)**  
><strong>Pairing: <strong>Shizuo x Izaya  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I own none of these characters!

**THIS STORY CONTAINS MALExMALE RELATIONSHIPS**. You have been warned.

* * *

><p><strong>Shizuo's POV<strong>

After filling our stomachs, we got right back to work. Let me tell you, hauling everything up is a lot harder than pulling everything down, but so it goes. All I know is I most definitely got my workout for the weekend, and Kayumi probably got a workout for the entire week. I could tell the little blonde was dragging her feet, and when all of Izaya's belongings were finally haphazardly laying_ somewhere _on the floor of the apartment, I found my girl passed out on the mattress in Izaya's bedroom. I chuckled at the sight, bending down to carefully remove the decoration she'd been unwrapping from her hand, and maneuvered her into a more comfortable position.

"Thanks for all the help," I whispered, placing a light kiss on her forehead before retreating from the room. I'd just let her sleep for now. She deserved it.

"Hey, can you-"

"Shh," I said quickly, catching Izaya's gaze and placing a finger on my lips as I gently shut his bedroom door. Izaya blinked and looked at the door questioningly, "Kayumi fell asleep."

Recognition filtered over his features, and in a much quieter voice, he continued, "Can you find the tool bag? It should be on the kitchen counter."

I looked around for said bag and joined him in putting the entertainment center back together.

"She is one helpful little girl," Izaya commented, holding a shelf in place as I screwed the nail in. I smiled fondly.

"I have no clue where she gets it from," I replied.

"Hm? Was Shizu-chan a rebellious child?" Izaya chuckled.

"Very. I was a brat who always wanted to start fights," I said, shaking my head, "Now those kind of kids irritate me. Funny how things work like that."

"That's interesting~! I was a quiet kid."

I stopped my work to look up and raise a brow.

"You? Quiet?"

"It can happen," Izaya said with a pout. I snorted and looked back at the task at hand. "Then do you think she got it from Vorona-san?"

I tightened the nail and reached for another shelf. Izaya took it and held it in place.

"Not likely. Granted I didn't know Vorona in elementary, but she was the girl always trying to drag me to parties."

"... then sorry to bring this up, but if that's the case, why did she get all rights to Kayumi-chan?"

I sighed, that familiar twinge acting up in my chest. I didn't answer right away, debating on exactly how much I wanted to divulge. Izaya merely sat there and waited. In fact, he was staring at the wood like he'd said nothing at all. He was probably going to forget he even asked if I didn't say anything. Have to admit, that's much appreciated, but...

"I wasn't suitable to raise a kid," I started, tapping the screwdriver against the shelf, "I was still a teenager, and a gay one at that. And all of a sudden I had Vorona coming at me saying she was pregnant with my child and that she loved me. On my side, it was a stupid encounter that only happened because of large amounts of alcohol, but then I had a huge responsibility and I didn't know what in the world I was doing. I agreed to marry Vorona only because I felt there was no other way out. But Vorona wanted something more than I could ever give, and when she finally realized we could never be a true family, she threw a fit and called for a divorce. I had no job at the time, my family was hardly middle-class, and the courts had records of my several violent acts as a kid, with all the fighting I did. So when Vorona asked for full custody, she won pretty easily. And due to my head being fucked up about the entire ordeal, I didn't fight that decision."

I took in a deep breath. Not fighting for Kayumi then... it was my biggest regret.

".. well, Heiwajima Shizuo," Izaya started, and I looked up to meet his gaze, "I think you are an incredible father."

It was strange, the feeling that came over me then. Happiness mixed with something bitter, or encouragement blurred with disdain. I didn't believe those words. An incredible father? I wasn't around her enough to _be_ a father.

But at the same time, my heart reached out for those words and wanted them so badly that my throat felt suddenly thick. And what made it worse.. or was it what made it better.. is I could see the sincerity in his expression and in that moment, I felt like I knew I'd done something _right_.

".. thanks," I muttered halfheartedly, still battling with my emotions. On the surface of these contradicting thoughts was a tinge of embarrassment that I hoped didn't show on my face. Talk about knowing exactly what to say, this little devil. Smooth-talk or not, that really hit me.

"You're adorable when you blush."

I felt my eye twitch before I lightly hit him on the head with my screwdriver.

It was back to small talk afterward. I was really surprised that the heavy air had been lifted so quickly, yet not surprised at all because Izaya had a way of doing things like that. The entertainment center was completed, and some of the electronics were wired, leaving the new apartment finally looking like someone lived in it. There were still a few boxes, but Izaya waved a hand in the air and promptly dismissed me, saying I should get some rest for work tomorrow.

"Kayumi?" I whispered in her ear as I gently wiggled her arm. Those heavy eyelids opened, and chocolate eyes peered up at me sleepily.

"Daddy?" She questioned, rubbing at those eyes. She blinked at the box in front of her, of which still had half of the decorations wrapped in newspaper, and widened her eyes, "I fell asleep?"

"Yeah," I chuckled, ruffling her hair, "But it's alright. You worked hard today. It's time to go now."

"Sorry!" She apologized, pouting at the box. I lifted her into my arms and walked back into the living room.

"I hope you'll be able to sleep tonight," I commented, looking at the clock and wondering exactly when she fell asleep. I had no idea how long it'd been.

"Iza-chan, I'll finish unwrapping them tomorrow!" Kayumi exclaimed upon seeing Izaya sitting on his couch.

"Haha, that's fine, Kayumi-chan. You did plenty for me today. And we're going to the daycare center tomorrow, remember?" Izaya answered, leaning forward, "But you're more than welcome to come here any time. You and your father."

His gaze moved to me as he said this.

"How long will we be there?" Kayumi asked, looking at me as her little hands clutched at my shoulders.

"Most of the day," I answered, and panicked just a bit when Kayumi frowned, "But if there's something you want to do afterward, just tell me!"

".. just wanna be with daddy," she muttered, hugging my neck. I smiled into her golden locks.

"Well of course you'll be with me," I answered, patting her back before setting her back down on the floor, "Now what do we say to Izaya?"

"Thank you very much for today!" Kayumi said with a smile and a short bow. Izaya smiled back and stood up.

"I'll be looking forward to your drawing," Izaya said as we moved toward the front door. I felt a small tug on the sleeve of my shirt and looked over my shoulder as I walked, "And thanks for the talk earlier."

Thanks?

Why are _you_ thanking _me?_

Haha, this crazy guy.

Standing at the doorway, even in a different apartment, made the memory of Izaya's surprise kiss resurface. It was just like this, him standing there and me standing here, Kayumi's back turned to us as she tied her shoes..

I looked at Izaya then. A smile still on his lips as he looked down at Kayumi.

With a quick glance at Kayumi's still-turned back, I brushed my fingers under Izaya's chin and leaned in.

He knew what I was going to do. I knew it because of the sharp intake of breath he took right before I pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. Just that slight contact was enough to prove the flutter in my chest was something a little greater than admiration, and I realized this really could turn into something more. It was a strange but not uncomfortable feeling to swallow.

I pulled away, the finger under his chin following. His closed eyelids reopened to stare up at me, his lips just barely parted in what I'm sure is surprise, and I can feel the warmth of a blush creeping up my neck.

"Thanks for today," I spoke with a diverted gaze. I saw Kayumi stand up and look up at me, ready to go, "Lets go, honey."

She took that as a cue to open the door.

"Be safe walking home," Izaya said from behind me as I followed Kayumi out of the door. I threw him a look over my shoulder, and was immediately thrilled to see a big smile on his lips.

"Bye Iza-chan!" Kayumi shouted, walking backwards so she could wave at him.

"See you tomorrow, Kayumi-chan!" He called loudly, "And Shizu-chan! Don't think you're going to get away with that~!"

My face felt hot. I was glad I was walking away so he couldn't see it, and put a hand up in the air to wave at him. Unfortunately, the other part of my audience _did_ notice my state.

"Daddy, you're face is all red," Kayumi giggled innocently. I chuckled, trying to will the blush down, staring at our elongated shadows on the ground in front of us.

"Ne, Kayumi?" I asked absentmindedly, kicking at a rock on the sidewalk.

"Yeah?" She chirped.

"You said you liked Izaya, right?"

"Mhm!"

I smiled.

"Well, I think I may like him too," I admitted. It felt good to say the words aloud.

"Well duh," Kayumi said, surprising me. I looked down to see her shrug, "We wouldn't have helped him all weekend if you didn't like him!"

I laughed and ruffled her hair.

"But I wanna watch cartoons!"

Kayumi sat on the living room floor with a pout puffing up her cheeks. I sighed, knowing I was right when I figured she wouldn't sleep much tonight due to her nap at Izaya's.

"It's already passed ten and I have work tomorrow, Kayumi," I responded, waiting at the end of the hallway with my arms crossed to at least try to look a little intimidating. She just pouted harder and turned back to the television set. My intimidating stance sagged, and I walked forward to scoop the little brat in my arms.

"Daddyyyy!" She whined, kicking her feet, "I'm not tired!"

Note: never let her take a nap again. They seemed to make her moody.

"But if you don't go to sleep now, you'll be tired when we have to wake up tomorrow morning. You wanna be awake to play with the kids, right?" I asked. She stubbornly looked away from me, "What about that promise to draw me something? Can't draw if you fall asleep at the table, hm?"

She slowly turned to look at me, and her pout melted into a disappointed frown.

".. 'guess," she muttered. I smiled and kissed her forehead.

"You can sleep with me again if you want," I offered to try and further appease her. She took the bait, nodding, "Alright, go brush those teeth."

I let her down and watched her run to the restroom. Taking in a deep breath, I found the remote control and shut the television off, yawning widely. I was definitely tired out by today.

A dull vibration hit my ears, and I glanced over at the coffee table to see my phone whirring. Who would be calling this late?

Jogging over, I paused when I read the caller ID.

Damn, that man just couldn't wait to talk to me, huh? Or maybe he had a question regarding the kids? Either way, I had to answer.

"Hello?" I asked, plopping down on the couch.

"Hey Shizu-chan~" Izaya greeted as he usually did, and I could just imagine that smirk on his face even though I couldn't see him, "I hope I didn't wake you up?"

"No, you didn't," I said, but I had a feeling he wouldn't have cared if he did, "But why the call so late?"

"I told you I wouldn't let you get away with earlier, ne?"

I knew it.

With a chuckle, I plopped down on the couch, sinking into the cushions while searching for the words I wanted to say. Did I even know what I wanted to say?

"So you did," I respond, hearing the faint sound of running water down the hall.

"Why did you kiss me?"

Always so blunt.

"Why do you normally kiss someone?" I asked with a grin. I could just imagine the pout on his face.

"Shizu-chan," he replied sternly. I threw a glance at the hallway and lowered my voice.

"I might like you."

"... might," Izaya repeated in a disbelieving tone that turned into a small chuckle, "Okay, I think I can work with that. But you have horrible timing."

"Horrible timing?"

"Of course, you kissed me on a Sunday! Now we have a whole week of work ahead! We could have gone on a date this weekend."

"I have Kayumi; it wouldn't have worked anyway," I answered. I was pretty sure Kayumi didn't want to see daddy being what she would call 'lovey-dovey' with someone else all day.

"Ah, does Kayumi know of your preference?"

"What do you think?" I said, deadpanned, "Vorona threw a fit about it; I highly doubt she'd want me to tell her daughter daddy can't be with them because he's gay."

I scowled at the thought.

"Alright, alright, don't get angry," Izaya spoke in a soothing voice, "I should have figured that."

"No.. sorry, I'm just.. bitter about anything involving Vorona," I said apologetically, hearing footsteps running toward me. Kayumi ran back into the living room with a big smile to show her newly brushed teeth.

"Clean!" Kayumi exclaimed, then looked at the phone, "Who is it?"

"It's Izaya," I answered.

"Kayumi is still up?" I heard Izaya asked over the phone, just as Kayumi loudly said, "Hi Iza-chan!"

"Yeah, thanks to her little nap today, she's still energetic as ever," I answered with a soft sigh. Izaya chuckled, "But we're about to go to bed, right Kayumi?"

She crossed her arms defiantly, but nodded her head none-the-less.

"Aw, you too?" Izaya whined.

"You should go to bed too," I commented.

"But I wanted to talk to my boyfriend~!" Izaya chimed. The word was so sudden that I stuttered, apprehensive gaze flying to Kayumi to see if she'd heard. She was sitting on the couch looking at me, but the little tilt to her head and curious brown eyes informed me she couldn't hear Izaya's ramblings. Izaya laughed, "Well at least let me say goodnight to Kayumi-chan."

"You better not say anything funny," I halfheartedly warned, before handing the phone over to Kayumi. She smiled and yanked it from my grasp. I bet she was just happy to have a distraction to avoid bedtime.

"Hi Iza-chan! … mhm. You're welcome!" Kayumi giggled, and I couldn't stop a smile. Her happiness was contagious, "On Friday. Yeah..." she glanced at me. "Sure! No, I want to! .. Okay, here's daddy."

I curiously took the phone back.

"What was that about?"

"A surprise," Izaya answered mysteriously, "So then I guess I'll let you go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow, Shizu-chan~"

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. What kind of surprise?

"Yeah, see you tomorrow. Good night," I answered, letting my curiosity go unsatisfied for tonight. Whatever it was, Kayumi seemed to agree with it, so it couldn't be anything too bad, "Alright, lets get us some sleep."

* * *

><p><em>KonoBeat: I'm happy I could help wind you down! Finals suck D:<em>

_loonytwin: Hahaha, I'm REALLY not sure about the rating yet. I will try not to disappoint either way? :3_

_Pezlie: This story in general has been giving me complications lately, and I've been scatterbrained because of many different things lately. I apologize if it isn't as good as some of my other stories ^^;_

_PencilsAreMyTreasure: XDD I'm sure Izaya enjoyed the sight~_

_Xaleria07: I reeeeeeally love writing Kayumi, so I'm happy you find her adorable! I think Shizuo's kid really WOULD be adorable ;_;!_

_Sexykill69: N- not two, but I have one? :D?_

_TheGoldenFairie: You know, that's a good question, because I don't even know yet. I'm still brewing ideas on how I want this story to go, my outline isn't complete, so uh... we'll see? XD_

_To everyone: Thank you so much for the reviews and I am REALLY SORRY I'm being so slow with this story._


	6. Sosuke

**Title:** Handle With Care**  
>Author: <strong>MistressKiko**  
>Rating:<strong> T** (for now. May go up)**  
><strong>Pairing: <strong>Shizuo x Izaya  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I own none of these characters!

**THIS STORY CONTAINS MALExMALE RELATIONSHIPS**. You have been warned.

* * *

><p><strong>Shizuo's POV<strong>

There had to be some unwritten rule. A rule that stated when one thing goes bad, a million other treacherous things must immediately follow.

And Sosuke wasn't even _here _today.

"This side of the room is mine, lispy!"

"Then this side is mine! And you bettew not cwoss into it, cwabby!"

I would have never expected Kyo and Saru to talk so vulgarly at each other, but hey, I guess lovers' spats start at an early age?

Conflicted, I watched the two huff, cross their arms, and walk to distinct opposite sides of the room. To meddle with childrens' woes or not..?

"Daddy!"

Ah, and then there was scenario number two, pulling at my pant leg while I was trying to write on the attendance sheet.

"Ye-"

"!"

Well, damn it. That sounded like Miyo again.

"One second Kayumi," I muttered, patting her head before rushing between the two quarreling lovers and heading straight for the door. Sure enough, the long-haired girl was holding her elbow and looking up at me with wobbly eyes. I sighed and bent down to pick her up, "What'd you do this time?"

"I didn't do anything! Bug bit me!" Miyo exclaimed, glaring at her elbow.

"Well let me see," I prompted, attempting to pry the hand from her elbow.

"INCOMING!"

I looked up just in time to see a stuffed seahorse flying at my face. I was merely able to flinch before a hand jutted out in front of me and caught the toy.

"Takeshi, let's not throw things, hm?" Izaya said, waving the toy in the air.

"Sorry," Takeshi mumbled, then ran around Izaya and I to meet back up with Hideki.

"Thanks for the save," I said to Izaya.

"Daddy!" Kayumi exclaimed, once again at my heels. Can I not get a single moment's rest?

"Here, I'll take her," Izaya suddenly said, stepping forward and holding his arms out to take Miyo. I flashed him a grateful smile and knelt down to focus attention on my daughter.

"Now, what do you want?"

"Draw! You said I could draw you a picture and you'd hang it up, right?" Kayumi asked with wide eyes.

"Haha, yeah sure. I'll get some paper and.. do you want colored pencils or markers?" I asked, making my way to the shelves.

"Colored pencils!" She exclaimed behind me. Grabbing said pencils off the shelf, I looked over at Sayu, who was huddled in a corner reading a book. Glancing the opposite way, Kyo looked quite alone building a block tower by himself. I sighed as I set the stuff on the table for Kayumi.

"Make it something awesome, kay?" I teased, ruffling Kayumi's blonde tresses. She gave me a wide smile and went to work. I nonchalantly made my way over to Sayu, "Sayu-chan. What are you reading?"

"The Ruby Red Princess," she muttered, not even looking up at me. In fact, she looked pretty crestfallen.

"I'm surprised to see you not with Kyo-kun."

"Cause he's being a meanie," Sayu finally looked up, puffing her cheeks.

"That so? Can you tell me what happened?" I asked, dropping to my knees and taking a seat beside her. Sayu shifted, closing the book and running a hand over the cover.

"... he won't read it to me," Sayu mumbled. I inwardly chuckled. If only adult's love spats were that simple.

"Did he say why?"

She shook her head. Hm. Well. I may have to go investigate the other side of the story then.

"Can I get everyone over at the tables?" Izaya suddenly called. I raised a brow. We had nothing but a game of musical chairs planned, and that wasn't until later. Never-the-less, I took Sayu's hand and walked over to the tables with her. Kyo and Sayu met each others eyes before looking away a dozen times.

"What's this about?" I asked as I watched him grab hold of several sheets of paper and spread them out on the tables. Kayumi had to pause in her progress.

"I've decided it would be really nice for us to make get well posters and stop by Sosuke's house today, don't you think?" Izaya asked the group. Takeshi and Hideaki immediately perked up at the idea, Miyo was focusing attention on the bandaid on her elbow, Kayumi looked a little bewildered at changing projects, and Kyo and Sayu were much too focused on trying to ignore each other to have a say. But with a little more pushing, all the kids were hard at work making 'the greatest posters ever', as Izaya put it.

"You know, if the kid's not really sick, I'm going to be mad we did this," I whispered to Izaya when we were far enough away from the kids.

"Don't worry about it. If anything, we're teaching a good thing here, aren't we?" Izaya asked, lightly jabbing me with his elbow, "And despite what I said yesterday, I really don't think he's faking it."

"Such faith."

"You have to put some faith into our children, Shizu-chan!"

"... you purposefully said it that way, didn't you?"

"... actually, no, I wasn't thinking that way. But that means you weeere! Already thinking about our future, Shizu-chan!"

I would not blush, I would not blush, I would not blush...

"Shut up."

"Heh heh~!"

I found myself staring at that little smirk of his. Damn it, when'd he get so cute?

When the children were done with their piece of art, they held it up proudly. It was a little messy, and the coloring definitely didn't stay in the lines of their drawn stick figures and balloon animals, but it was endearing and had GET WELL SOON SOSUKE written across it in bold letters.

After having a quick snack as a reward for their hard work, we all set off for Sosuke's house. I shook my head upon seeing Sayu and Kyo walking as far as they could possibly be from each other while still staying in the group, but then smiled upon seeing Hideki enthusiastically speaking about something or another to Kayumi. I heard something about whales, and an idea popped into my head. Izaya and I hadn't taken the kids on any trips in a while...

"Izaya." He looked over his shoulder before slowing down until he was walking right beside me, "How about we take the kids to the aquarium tomorrow?"

I whispered the last part so no one else would hear. Izaya's eyebrows shot up.

"Hmm, doesn't sound like a bad idea to me," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. He suddenly frowned, "But why the aquarium?"

"You don't think they'd enjoy it?"

"Yeah, they probably would. I just got a rather unpleasant flashback of going to an aquarium as a child," he replied, looking up at the sky.

"I have to hear this one," I goaded him on. He lolled his head my way and smiled.

"Well," he began, shuffling closer. I tensed when he folded his hand into mine and weaved our fingers together. I looked up at the children to make sure all their backs were turned, "I was around six, I think. Innocently looking through the glass at all the fish in the water. And then I happened to look down, and there was a dead one lying at the bottom of the tank and... well, it was just really_ really_ creepy. Those eyes.. it's like they were staring at me even though it was dead."

I chuckled heartily. His facial expression, something torn between awe and disgust, was making this story way more humorous than it should be.

"In other words, you're scared of fish," I taunted, and he glared at me.

"Look, it was creepy when I was that young!" He defended, his hand giving my own a warning squeeze. I smiled, glanced at the childrens' turned back again, and raised our joined hands to my lips, where I left a peck on his pale skin, "...!"

"Make sure you stop at the crosswalk! See the red hand?" I asked the kids, letting go of Izaya's hand. I jogged in front just to make sure none of them had thoughts of running out into the street and waited patiently for the white stickman to flash before crossing.

"You're really unfair," Izaya mumbled to me moments later, when I had once again fallen behind the group with him and we were a couple yards away from Sosuke's household.

"Unfair?" I echoed. A pout was on those pink lips.

"Pulling all these surprise kisses on me when I can't do anything about them," he replied with narrowed eyes and leaned into me as he continued, "Just wait 'till I get you alone."

I swallowed, feeling heat stream to my neck. Well,_ that _sounded promising.

Fuck, must concentrate on Sosuke, not Izaya, not that sexy grin of his, that sexy everything of his, not the thought of us alone... oh, hey, look, Sosuke's house, great! Hormones, down, there are kids present.

"Everyone ready to hold up your posters?" Izaya asked the group, skipping ahead to open the door to the apartment complex, "I'll go in and have him look out the window, alright? Can't have any of you catching what he has!"

Miyo's eyes grew wide and she looked up at me.

"What does he have? Is it serious?" Miyo asked cautiously.

"Haha, it's nothing bad, I'm sure," I answered. Hell, it was probably nothing at all, but I wasn't going to tell the children they spent a lot of time making posters for nothing.

"Should one of us read the poster out loud in case he can't read everything from up there?" Hideki suggested, pointing out the smaller stuff on the poster and the third story where they knew Sosuke's house to be.

"_Kyo _definitely won't do it," Sayu hmphed.

"Shut up, Sayu!" Kyo immediately raged. I scratched my chin a little uncertainly, but didn't have time to come up with a remedy before the window on the third floor was opening and Sosuke peeked his little head out.

"Hi guys!" Sosuke called out, voice rather raspy. Huh, what do you know, the kid may actually be sick.

Having not formulated a plan on who to say what, all the children began shouting at once, some in greeting and some reading straight from the poster, and I grinned and shook my head. Sosuke looked happy enough, waving frantically down at us.

"Get better soon!" Takeshi yelled.

"I'll fight it off by tomorrow so I can go to the aquarium!" Sosuke shouted back, putting a hand to his throat.

"Aquarium?"

All eyes turned to me. Well thanks, Izaya, guess it's not a surprise anymore.

"I wanna see the seahorses!"

"Dolphins are better!"

"Blowfish are cool!" Takeshi yelled loudly, walking backwards so everyone could see his impression of one. Shouts about the aquarium were all I heard as we walked back to the daycare, leaving Sosuke to get his rest.

"Daddy, daddy!" Kayumi exclaimed to get my attention, "You gotta give me a piggyback ride at the aquarium 'cause I can't see over people!"

"A piggyback ride? I'm going to get too old for that soon enough, you know. Or rather you're getting too big," I laughed.

"You aren't _old_," Kayumi protested, wrinkling her nose.

"I want a piggyback ride too, Shizu-chan," Izaya piped in, and I heard Kayumi giggled again at the nickname.

"_You_ are definitely tall enough to see over people."

"I just want one for fun! Please Shizu-chan?"

Another giggle.

"A start to getting what you want would be to stop calling me that."

"But if I don't call you that, then I have to call you that _other_ name. Remember, bab-"

"Shut up."

Izaya snorted and shrugged, dropping the topic. I listened to more excited chatter about aquatic creatures until we were back in the daycare center.

* * *

><p><em>It's a tad shorter than previous chapters, but when I saw IcybluePenguin's birthday chapter request, I felt obligated to do something XD So,<em> **HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, IcybluePenguin!**

_In a hurry, so hardly any time to comment on reviews, BUT, Aihara-Yuki, Sorenari ni Shinken nan desu by Asou Kai is my FAVORITE MANGA IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD and yes, it inspired this story :D! _


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